Nawaf Salam to begin consultations to form Lebanese government

Special Nawaf Salam to begin consultations to form Lebanese government
Lebanon’s new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks with the country’s outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati during their meeting in Beirut on January 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 14 January 2025
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Nawaf Salam to begin consultations to form Lebanese government

Nawaf Salam to begin consultations to form Lebanese government
  • Nawaf Salam: ‘I am not one of those who exclude or marginalize anyone; rather, I advocate for unity and national partnership’
  • Salam: ‘The time has come to begin a new chapter rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunities for Lebanon to be a country of free people equal in rights and duties’

BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam will begin non-binding parliamentary consultations on Wednesday and Thursday to form his government despite Hezbollah’s concerns about being excluded and doubts over the issue of legitimacy.

Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, have consistently adopted this approach during their periods in power to obstruct anything that does not align with their political ambitions.

Both President Joseph Aoun and Salam on Tuesday sought to reassure all parties in Lebanon despite the appointment of Salam lacking any Shiite parliamentary votes for him.

According to a political observer, there are fears of “potential obstacles to forming the government and granting it parliamentary confidence under the pretext of ‘lacking legitimacy,’ even if the cabinet includes Shiite figures in ministerial positions that may not meet their approval.”

Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, took an antagonistic stance after meeting with Aoun on Monday, stating that favoring Salam for the premiership over Najib Mikati, the incumbent caretaker prime minister supported by Hezbollah, is “an attempt by some to foster division, fragmentation, and exclusion.”

He warned: “It is our right to demand a government that upholds the national pact. We will monitor developments wisely and see their actions to expel Israel from southern Lebanon and return the prisoners.”

In response, the president, speaking before the highest Shiite religious authority in Lebanon, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, vice president of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, who visited him at the presidential palace, stressed that “no obstacles should be placed in the way of forming the government because we must seize the significant opportunities ahead of us. There is no time to waste, and we need to send positive messages abroad that Lebanon is capable of self-governance, transparent reconstruction, and building the state we all aspire to.”

Aoun emphasized that “the Shiites are not the only ones under threat; all of Lebanon is at risk. If one component is weakened, the entire country is weakened.”

He described the appointment of Salam to form the government as “the result of a democratic process that led to a certain outcome. There are additional phases to come. At times, we may have to take a step back, but the public interest remains the priority.”

Aoun said that “any attack on any part of Lebanon is an attack on all of Lebanon. We are pressing for Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south.”

The president continued: “Had there been a state and an army in the past, no one would have resorted to resistance.

“The current phase is different. The state bears responsibility, not just a single faction. The entire state and the Lebanese people as a whole are accountable."

He said that it is “not permissible for one group to bear the burden of this conflict (with Israel).”

Aoun recalled the position of Imam Musa Al-Sadr, who advocated for Lebanon’s neutrality in conflicts, noting that Lebanon, given its size, lacks the capacity to engage.

He addressed Sheikh Al-Khatib, saying: “You cannot distance yourselves from the teachings of Imam Al-Sadr; otherwise, you will not belong to the Supreme Islamic Shia Council or the Shiite community. Rest assured that no one will overpower anyone, no one will let anyone down, and no one will break anyone.”

Salam returned from The Hague late on Monday, shortly after being handed the responsibility of forming the government.

On Tuesday he met with the president and, for a brief period, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri joined the meeting.

According to protocol, Salam delivered his first address to the Lebanese people from the presidential palace, stating his “commitment to the challenging task of serving Lebanon.”

Salam said: “I listened to some concerns yesterday. I am not one of those who exclude or marginalize anyone; rather, I advocate for unity and national partnership, and my hands are extended to all to initiate reforms so that no citizen feels marginalized.”

He added: “The time has come to begin a new chapter rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunities for Lebanon to be a country of free people equal in rights and duties … working to extend the authority of the state over all its territories.”

Salam emphasized the need for the government “to formulate a comprehensive program aimed at fostering a productive economy and ensuring job opportunities for future generations.”

He said: “A significant portion of our population still have their homes destroyed, as well as their institutions, and we must rebuild the villages in the Bekaa, the south and Beirut. Reconstruction is not just a promise but a commitment.”

He also underscored the importance of executing the Taif Agreement, saying: “The foundation of the long-anticipated reforms lies in addressing the provisions of the Taif Agreement that remain unfulfilled and rectifying those that have been implemented.”

Salam called for “the establishment of extensive administrative decentralization, delivering justice to the victims of the port explosion, and compensating depositors who have suffered financial losses.”

He said: “I will guarantee that no citizen experiences feelings of injustice, marginalization, or exclusion.”

Furthermore, Salam highlighted the urgent need to focus on “the complete implementation of Resolution 1701 and the terms of the ceasefire agreement, reinforcing the state’s authority across all its territories, and ensuring the withdrawal of the Israeli army from every part of Lebanon.”

The French Foreign Ministry congratulated Salam on his appointment, wishing him “every success in carrying out his mission, at this historic time for Lebanon. France very much hopes that a strong government, capable of bringing Lebanon together in all its diversity, may be formed as soon as possible to carry out the reforms essential for the recovery of Lebanon and its state, to allow the return of prosperity for the Lebanese people and the restoration of Lebanon’s security and sovereignty throughout its territory.

“The Lebanese premier will be able to count on France’s full support in its missions, to the benefit of all Lebanese people,” the ministry added.

Lebanon’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, said that “facilitating the task of the designated prime minister to form a comprehensive national government composed of experts and qualified individuals is a national duty.”

After his meeting with Sheikh Derian, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari said: “The Kingdom will always stand by Lebanon and its people.”

He expressed his “satisfaction with the completion of the presidential elections and parliamentary consultations, which promote unity among the Lebanese people and steer Lebanon toward a renaissance both economically and developmentally, in order to pave the way for the reform process and restore the trust of the Arab and international communities.”

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes resumed their incursions into Lebanese airspace, particularly over Beirut and the southern suburbs.

On Tuesday, the Lebanese army raided the Sadiq compound in Al-Aamroussieh after receiving reports of weapons and ammunition stored underground. But after searching the area — previously targeted by Israel — the army found no weapons or ammunition.


Tunisia plastic collectors spread as economic, migration woes deepen

Tunisia plastic collectors spread as economic, migration woes deepen
Updated 57 min 1 sec ago
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Tunisia plastic collectors spread as economic, migration woes deepen

Tunisia plastic collectors spread as economic, migration woes deepen
  • Hamza Jabbari sets bags of plastic bottles onto a scale. He is among Tunisia’s “barbechas,” informal plastic recyclers whose increasing numbers reflect the country’s economy

TUNIS: A towel draped over his head, Hamza Jabbari sets bags of plastic bottles onto a scale. He is among Tunisia’s “barbechas,” informal plastic recyclers whose increasing numbers reflect the country’s economic — and migratory — woes.

The 40-something-year-old said he starts the day off at dawn, hunching over bins and hunting for plastic before the rubbish trucks and other plastic collectors come.

“It’s the most accessible work in Tunisia when there are no job offers,” Jabbari said, weighing a day’s haul in Bhar Lazreg, a working-class neighborhood north of the capital, Tunis.

The work is often gruelling, with a kilogramme of plastic bottles worth only 0.5 to 0.7 Tunisian dinar — less than $0.25.

In Tunis, it’s common to see women weighed down by bags of plastic bottles along the roadside, or men weaving through traffic with towering loads strapped to their motorcycles.

“Everyone does it,” said Jabbari.

Hamza Chaouch, head of the National Chamber of Recyclable Waste Collectors, estimated that there were roughly 25,000 plastic collectors across Tunisia, with 40 percent of them in the capital.

Yet, with the job an informal one, there is no official count of how many plastic collectors operate in Tunisia.

One thing is certain: their number has increased in recent years, said Chaouch, who also runs a plastic collection center south of Tunis.

“It’s because of the cost of living,” he explained.

“At first, it was people with no income, but for the past two years, workers, retirees and cleaning women have also turned to this work as a supplementary job.”

Around 16 percent of Tunisians lived under the poverty line as of 2021, the latest available official figures.

Unemployment currently hovers around 16 percent, with inflation at 5.4 percent.

The ranks of these recyclers have also grown with the arrival of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa — often hoping to reach Europe but caught in limbo with both the EU and Tunis cracking down on Mediterranean crossings.

Tunisia is a key transit country for thousands of sub-Saharan migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea each year, with the Italian island of Lampedusa only 150 kilometers (90 miles) away.

Abdelkoudouss, a 24-year-old from Guinea, said he began collecting plastic to make ends meet but also to save up enough money to return home after failing two crossing attempts to Europe.

For the past two months, he has worked at a car wash, he said, but the low pay forced him to start recycling on the side.

“Life here is not easy,” said Abdelkoudouss, adding he came to the capital after receiving “a lot of threats” amid tension between migrants and locals in Sfax, a coastal city in central Tunisia.

Thousands of migrants had set up camp on the outskirts of Sfax, before authorities began dismantling the makeshift neighborhoods this year.

Tensions flared in early 2023 when President Kais Saied said “hordes of sub-Saharan migrants” were threatening the country’s demographic composition.

Saied’s statement was widely circulated online and unleashed a wave of hostility that many migrants feel still lingers.

“There’s a strong rivalry in this work,” said Jabbari, glancing at a group of sub-Saharan African migrants nearby.

“These people have made life even more difficult for us. I can’t collect enough plastic because of them.”

Chaouch, the collection center manager, was even more blunt: “We don’t accept sub-Saharans at our center. Priority goes to Tunisians.”

In contrast, 79-year-old Abdallah Omri, who heads another center in Bhar Lazreg, said he “welcomes everyone.”

“The people who do this work are just trying to survive, whether they’re Tunisian, sub-Saharan or otherwise,” he said.

“We’re cleaning up the country and feeding families,” he added proudly.


The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution

The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution
Updated 28 July 2025
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The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution

The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution
  • United Nations inextricably linked to the fate of Palestinians
  • In the absence of full membership, UNGA granted the Palestinians new rights in 2024

UNITED NATIONS: Ever since the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947, the United Nations has been inextricably linked to the fate of Palestinians, with the organization meeting this week hoping to revive the two-state solution.

Here is a timeline on the issue:

In November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 dividing Palestine — which was then under British mandate — into Jewish and Arab states, with a special international zone for Jerusalem.

Zionist leaders accepted the resolution, but it was opposed by Arab states and the Palestinians.

Israel declared independence in May 1948, triggering the Arab-Israeli war which was won convincingly by Israel the following year.

Around 760,000 Palestinians fled their homes or were expelled — an event known as the “Nakba,” Arabic for “catastrophe,” which the United Nations only officially commemorated for the first time in May 2023.

People paint as they participate in an event organized by a muralist brigade to protest in support of the Palestinian people, in Mexico City, on July 27, 2025. (REUTERS) 

In the aftermath of the Six-Day War of 1967, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied during the conflict, including the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. But linguistic ambiguities between the English and French versions of the resolutions complicated matters, making the scope of the required withdrawal unclear.

In November 1974, Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), gave his first speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, saying he carried both “an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s gun.”

Days later, the UN General Assembly recognized the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and independence. It granted UN observer status to the PLO as a representative of the Palestinian people.

One of the strongest peace initiatives did not come from the United Nations.

In 1993, Israel and the PLO — which in 1988 unilaterally declared an independent State of Palestine — wrapped up months of secret negotiations in Norway’s capital Oslo.

The two sides signed a “declaration of principles” on Palestinian autonomy and, in 1994, Arafat returned to the Palestinian territories after a long exile and formed the Palestinian Authority, the governing body for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

UN Security Council decisions on how to treat the Palestinians have always depended on the position of the veto-wielding United States.

Since 1972, Washington has used its veto more than 30 times to protect its close ally Israel. But sometimes, it allows key resolutions to advance.

In March 2002, the Security Council — at Washington’s initiative — adopted Resolution 1397, the first to mention a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, with secure and recognized borders.

In December 2016, for the first time since 1979, the Council called on Israel to stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories — a measure that went through thanks to a US abstention, just before the end of Barack Obama’s White House term.

And in March 2024, another US abstention — under pressure from the international community — allowed the Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire amid Israel’s offensive on Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the militants’ October 7 attack.

That measure came after the United States blocked three similar drafts.

In 2011, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas initiated the process of requesting membership of the State of Palestine to the UN, which required a positive recommendation from the Security Council, followed by a favorable vote from the General Assembly.

In the face of opposition from the United States, the process was halted even before a vote in the Council.

The following year, the General Assembly granted the Palestinians a lower status as a “non-member observer State.”

In April 2024, the Palestinians renewed their request to become a full-fledged member state, but the United States vetoed it.

If the Palestinian request had cleared the Security Council hurdle, it would have had every chance of being approved by the necessary two-thirds majority in the Assembly.

According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.

In the absence of full membership, the Assembly granted the Palestinians new rights in 2024, seating them in alphabetical order of states, and allowing to submit resolution proposals themselves for the first time.

 


Yemen’s Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports

Yemen’s Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports
Updated 28 July 2025
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Yemen’s Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports

Yemen’s Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports

Yemen’s Houthis said on Sunday they would target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what they called the fourth phase of their military operations against Israel.

In a televised statement, the Houthis’ military spokesperson warned that ships would be attacked if companies ignored their warnings, regardless of their destination.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces call on all countries, if they want to avoid this escalation, to pressure the enemy to halt its aggression and lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip,” he added.

Since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships they deem as bound or linked to Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians.

In May, the US announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.


Israel’s daily pauses fall short of easing Gaza suffering: UK

Israel’s daily pauses fall short of easing Gaza suffering: UK
Updated 27 July 2025
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Israel’s daily pauses fall short of easing Gaza suffering: UK

Israel’s daily pauses fall short of easing Gaza suffering: UK
  • Food airdropped over besieged territory
  • 38 Palestinians, 3 Israeli soldiers killed

LONDON, GAZA: Israel’s decision on Sunday to pause military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors falls short of what is needed to alleviate suffering in the enclave, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

Lammy said in a statement that Israel’s announcement was “essential but long overdue,” and that access to aid must now be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days.

“This announcement alone cannot alleviate the needs of those desperately suffering in Gaza,” Lammy said. “We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered.” 

FASTFACT

Lammy said that access to aid must now be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days.

The Israeli military said the “tactical pause” in Gaza City, Deir Al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas with large populations, would increase humanitarian aid entering the territory. The pause runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice.

Jordan said it carried out three airdrops over Gaza, including one in cooperation with the UAE, dropping 25 tonnes of food and supplies on several locations.

“Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Despite the annouoncement of temporary pauses, Israeli strikes killed at least 38 Palestinians from late Saturday into Sunday, including 23 seeking aid. 

An airstrike on a Gaza City apartment killed a woman and her four children. Another strike killed four people, including a boy, his mother and grandfather, in the eastern Zaytoun neighborhood.

US President Donald Trump said Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after moves by Israel to pull out of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas militant group.

Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue.

“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, the military said, a day after confirming another soldier had died of wounds sustained last week.

The two soldiers, aged 20 and 22, served in the Golani Infantry Brigade’s 51st Battalion.

Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armored vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Yunis.

 


Two Palestinian families in Jerusalem self-demolish their homes to avoid Israeli fines

Two Palestinian families in Jerusalem self-demolish their homes to avoid Israeli fines
Updated 27 July 2025
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Two Palestinian families in Jerusalem self-demolish their homes to avoid Israeli fines

Two Palestinian families in Jerusalem self-demolish their homes to avoid Israeli fines
  • Israel denies building permits to Palestinians in Jerusalem in most cases, while it carries out planned expansion of Jewish settlements in the city
  • In the case that Israeli authorities carry out the destruction, the families will be required to pay for the cost of the demolition, which could vary and may total hundreds of thousands of Shekels

LONDON: Two Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem have self-demolished their homes to avoid steep financial penalties imposed by the Israeli municipality for building without a permit on Sunday.

Israel denies building permits to Palestinians in Jerusalem in most cases, while it carries out planned expansion of Jewish settlements in the city and the occupied West Bank.

From 1991 to 2018, Israeli authorities approved only 16.5 percent of building permits in Palestinian neighborhoods, while the remaining permits were issued for Israeli neighborhoods in West Jerusalem and settlements, according to the organization Peace Now.

The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate said that the Quraan family was forced to demolish their home in the Jabal al-Mukabbir neighborhood on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Halawanis also demolished their residential building, comprising six housing units, in Beit Hanina, located north of Jerusalem. As a result, around 30 individuals, including children, have been left without homes.

In the case that Israeli authorities carry out the destruction, the families will be required to pay for the cost of the demolition, which could vary and may total hundreds of thousands of Shekels.

The Jerusalem Governorate said that this is part of an Israeli “systematic policy of displacing” Palestinians from the city.

“Palestinian families in occupied Jerusalem are frequently denied building permits by Israeli authorities, leaving many with no legal option but to build without authorization,” it added.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have criticized Israel’s home demolition policy in Jerusalem as “discriminatory.”

Since Israel attacked Gaza in October 2023, authorities in Jerusalem have demolished 623 houses and other commercial facilities belonging to dozens of Palestinian families.